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In Real Life
Page Overview This page is only to provide real-life facts about the dinosaurs you play as in game. |-|Starter Dinosaurs= Tyrannosaurus Tyrannosaurus rex lived during the Late Cretaceous period(specifically 68-66 million years ago) in North America and its scientific name means the Tyrant lizard king. Due to the fact Tyrannosaurus was kind of mediocre in speed( at 22 miles an hour at maximum), paleontologists thought that this predator was an opportunist, hunting prey if it must but also not above scavenging. Tyrannosaurus was one of the largest land carnivores of all time, rivaled only by Spinosaurus and two members of the Giganotosaurini. Recent studies show that the estimated weight of the T.rex was between 8.4-14 metric tonnes! Tyrannosaurus was also found to have extremly good eyesight(able to see something over 17 football fields away) and one of the most powerful bites of any animal(estimated to be between 4500 and 12,800 pounds). Some scientists speculate that the T.rex had feathers, using T.rex's relatives such as Yutyrannus as evidence. There is ,however, not enough evidence to tell at the moment as T.rex has not many traces of it's fossilized skin and what little is known are tiny bits and pieces; overall the debate is still rageing on about if the "King of Dinosaurs" has feathers or not. Triceratops Triceratops horridus (aka the Trike) was a Ceratopsian that lived in the same time and place as Tyrannosaurus. The Trike sported a large solid frill around its head as well as two large brow horns and one small nose horn. It looked similar to the current day Rhinoceros and perhaps behaved in a vaugly similar fashion. The Function of the frill and horns is unknown but scientists speculate it was could have been used as self defense from predators such as T.rex, for courtship, identifying their own kind, or for fighting other trikes over mates like how deer use their antlers. The Trike moved on 4 legs with hoof-like feet like most other herbivores in the Late Cretaceous. Triceratops, unlike most herbivores of it's time, were not that social; they often only lived in small groups or alone. It's not known why but it's most likely because the environment they lived in did not allow them to travel in herds of hundreds like the Centrosaurinae. Like the Black Rhinoceros, the Trike most likely ate bushes and low-hanging branches. There is potential evidence that Triceratops had feathers in the form of nipple-like spines on the back of a specimen; the specimen is ,however, not officially described so it is not entirely certain. Ornithomimus Ornithomimus velox is a type of Ornithomimid that lived in the Late Cretaceous(specifically 76-66 million years ago) in North America. Ornithomimids were swift, bipedal theropods with small toothless beaks that indicate a omnivorous diet. A fossil was discovered in 2016 that revealed that Ornithomimus(and probably Ornithomimids in general) had feathers; the specimen had a coat of fuzz over most of it's body and wing covering it's arms. An interesting feature of Ornithomimus is that it had scaleless skin covering the leg from the knee down that resembled an ostrich, indicating they had a similar lifestyle. |-|Badge Unlockables= Styracosaurus Styracosaurus albertensis was a Ceratopsian that lived in North America about 75 million years ago. It had four to six long horns extending from its neck frill, a smaller horn on each of its cheeks, and a single horn protruding from its nose, which may have been up to 60 centimeters (2.0 feet) long and 15 centimeters (5.9 inches) wide. The function or functions of the horns and frills have been debated for many years. Styracosaurus was a relatively large dinosaur, reaching lengths of 5.5 meters (18 feet) and weighing nearly 3 tonnes. It stood about 1.8 meters (5.9 feet) tall. Styracosaurus possessed four short legs and a bulky body. Its tail was rather short. The skull had a beak and shearing cheek teeth arranged in continuous dental batteries, suggesting that the animal sliced up plants. Like other centrosaurines, this dinosaur may have been a herd animal, traveling in large groups, as suggested by bonebeds. Euoplocephalus Euoplocephalus tutus is one of the largest of all the Ankylosaurs, living in North America from 76 to 75 million years ago. The first fossil of Euoplocephalus was found in 1897 in Alberta. In 1902, it was named Stereocephalus, but that name had already been given to an insect, so it was changed in 1910. Later, many more ankylosaurid remains were found from the Campanian of North America and often made separate genera. In 1971, Walter Coombs concluded that they all belonged to Euoplocephalus which then would be one of the best-known dinosaurs. Recently however, experts have come to the opposite conclusion, limiting the authentic finds of Euoplocephalus to about a dozen specimens. These include a number of almost complete skeletons, so much is nevertheless known about the build of the animal. Euoplocephalus was about five to six meters long and weighed over two tons. Its body was low-slung and very flat and wide, standing on four sturdy legs. Its head had a short drooping snout with a horny beak to bite off plants that were digested in the large gut. Like other ankylosaurids, Euoplocephalus was largely covered by bony armor plates, among them rows of large high-ridged oval scutes. The neck was protected by two bone rings. It could also actively defend itself against predators like Gorgosaurus using a heavy club-like tail end. Brachiosaurus Brachiosaurus altithorax ''was a '''Brachiosaurid' Sauropod that lived in North America during the Late Jurassic(specifically from 154 to 153 million years ago).It was first described by Elmer S. Riggs in 1903 from fossils found in the Grand River Canyon (now Colorado River) of western Colorado, in the United States. Riggs named the dinosaur Brachiosaurus altithorax, declaring it "the largest known dinosaur". Brachiosaurus had a disproportionately long neck, small skull, and large overall size, all of which are typical for sauropods. However, the proportions of Brachiosaurus are unlike most sauropods: the forelimbs were longer than the hindlimbs, which resulted in a steeply inclined trunk, and its tail was shorter in proportion to its neck than other sauropods of the Jurassic. Brachiosaurus is the namesake genus of the family Brachiosauridae, which includes a handful of other similar sauropods. Much of what is known by laypeople about Brachiosaurus is in fact based on Giraffatitan brancai, a species of brachiosaurid from the Tendaguru Formation of Tanzania that was originally described by German paleontologist Werner Janensch as a species of Brachiosaurus. Allosaurus Allosaurus fragilis is a Carnosaur that lived in North America from 155 to 150 million years ago. Despite being often called "The lion of the Jurassic", Allosaurus actually had a weak bite force, it being weaker than the bite force of a lion. The main hunting strategy of Allosaurus is to 'hug' big game like sauropods, grappling them with it's arm while slashing their flanks with their serrated teeth which cause severe blood loss. Baryonyx Baryonyx walkeri is a Spinosaurid that lived in Europe from 130 to 125 million years ago.The holotype specimen was discovered in 1983 in Surrey, England, and the animal was named B. walkeri in 1986. The genus name, Baryonyx, means "heavy claw" and alludes to the animal's very large claw on the first finger; the specific name (walkeri) refers to its discoverer, amateur fossil hunter William J. Walker. Fragmentary specimens were later discovered in other parts of the United Kingdom and Iberia. The holotype specimen is one of the most complete theropod skeletons from the UK, and its discovery attracted media attention. Baryonyx was between 7.5 and 10 m (25 and 33 ft) long and weighed between 1.2 and 1.7 t (1.3 and 1.9 short tons), but the holotype specimen may not have been fully grown. Spinosaurus Spinosaurus aegyptiacus(meaning "spine lizard") is the largest Spinosaurid to have ever lived; it also is one of the largest "land" carnivores, rivaling Tyrannosaurus and some of the members of the Giganotosaurini. Spinosaurus lived in what now is North Africa, during the Late Cretaceous period(specifically 112 to 93.5 million years ago). This genus was known first from Egyptian remains discovered in 1912 and described by German paleontologist Ernst Stromer in 1915. The original remains were destroyed in World War II, but additional material has come to light in recent years. It is unclear whether one or two species are represented in the fossils reported in the scientific literature. Spinosaurus was one of several predators of it's environment, many of which are giants of their kind. Spinosaurus avoided competition with the other theropods it lived with by exploiting a niche few other non-avian dinosaurs have experimented with. The rivers that ran though their habitat was full of fish that were the largest of their kind; the largest sawfish(Onchopristis), the largest bichirs(Bawitius), the largest coelacanths(Mawsonia) and the largest lungfish(Ceratodus) lived in this ecosystem; these giant fish provided a bounty for those that could reach it like Spinosaurus. This reason is probably why Spinosaurus lasted so long, outliving most of the other giants that it once shared it's habitat with; and it only died out when the rivers were flooded by rising sea levels and the giant fish it depended upon went extinct. Avimimus Avimimus portentosus is a small basal Caenagnathid(a kind of Oviraptorosaur) that lived in Asia 70 million years ago.Meaning "bird mimic" (Latin avis = bird + mimus = mimic),named for its bird-like characteristics.The skull was small compared to the body, though the brain1 and eyes were large. The size of the bones which surrounded the brain and were dedicated to protecting it are large. This is also consistent with the hypothesis that Avimimus had a proportionally large brain. The jaws of Avimimus were thought to form a parrot-like beak lacking teeth, and a thorough review of the holotype specimen's anatomy confirmed that no teeth were preserved, although a series of tooth-like projections along the tip of the premaxilla were present. However, subsequently discovered specimens have been reported to preserve small premaxillary teeth.3 The small teeth or possible lack thereof in Avimimus suggests that it may have been an herbivore or omnivore. Kurzanov himself, however, believed that Avimimus was an insectivore. Troodon Troodon formosus is a Troodontid that lived in North America from 77 to 76 million years ago. Troodon has been thought of to have night vision do to it's enormous eyes. Discovered in October 1855, T. formosus was among the first dinosaurs found in North America, although it was thought to be a lizard until 1877. Several well-known troodontid specimens from the Dinosaur Park Formation in Alberta were once believed to be members of this genus. However, recent analyses in 2017 have found the genus to be undiagnostic and referred some of these specimens to the genus Stenonychosaurus (long believed to be synonymous with Troodon) and others to the newly created genus Latenivenatrix. Gigantoraptor Gigantoraptor erlianensis is the one of the largest Caenagnathids to ever live; it lived 85 million years ago in Asia. When it was described, it was clear that Gigantoraptor belonged to the Oviraptorosauria, a group named after Oviraptor; Gigantoraptor, however, was a giant compared to it's relatives. It was approximately three times as long and 35 times more massive than the heaviest earlier discovered oviraptorosaurid Citipati. Xu et al. estimated the length at 8 meters (26 ft) and the weight at 1400 kilograms. In 2010, Gregory S. Paul even gave an estimate of two tonnes (2.2 tons). The toothless lower jaws of Gigantoraptor are fused into a broad shovel-like mandible. They indicate that the unknown skull was over half a meter long and toothless also, probably equipped with a horny beak. The front tail vertebrae have very long neural spines and are heavily pneumatized with deep pleurocoels. The middle section of the relatively short tail is somewhat stiffened by long prezygapophyses. |-|Marine Reptiles= Pliosaurus Pliosaurus funkei (meaning "more lizard") is an thalassophonean pliosaurid known from the Late Jurassic(specifically 155 to 147 million years ago) in Europe and South America. Their diet would have included fish, cephalopods, and other marine reptiles. Pliosaurus funkei is the largest species in it's genus, a genus that contains at least nine other species. Pliosaurus funkei is often refereed to as "Predator X", which it was called before it was officially described. Mosasaurus Mosasaurus hoffmannii(meaning "lizard of the muse rive") is a mosasaur 'that lived in Europe and North America during the Late Cretaceous(specifically 70 to 66 million years ago). The ''Mosasarus was one of the last and largest '''mosasaurs. The largest Mosasarus fossils found was nearly 17 meters in length! Thats a little over half the size of a blue whale! The Mosasarus had long barrel shaped bodies with 4 flippers (2 large on the front and 2 smaller on the back.), a tail with a fluke like that of modern day sharks, and a robust skull with the lower jaw being attached tightly to the skull. Scientists predict that the Mosasarus lived near the ocean surface and its diet might've consisted of fish, turtles, smaller mosasaurs, pterosaurs, and plesiosaurs. Elasmosaurus Elasmosaurus platyurusis is a Elasmosaurid plesiosaur that lived in North America during the Late Cretaceous(specifically 80 million years ago). Elasmosaurus was 10.3 metres (34 ft) long, and would have had a streamlined body with paddle-like limbs, a short tail, a small head, and an extremely long neck. Ichthyosaurus Ichthyosaurus communis is a Ichthyosaur that lived in Europe for the Late Triassic to the Early Jurassic. I''chthyosaurus'' is among the best known ichthyosaur genera, with the order Ichthyosauria being named after it. As an ocean going hunter,‭ ‬the main diet of Ichthyosaurus would have been primarily if not exclusively piscivorous.‭ ‬Study of coprolites has confirmed the presence of both fish and squid in its feeding habits.‭ ‬Although Ichthyosaurus appears to have relied upon its sight for feeding,‭ ‬the solid bone structure of the ear drums suggests that they could have '‬heard' ‬their prey from a distance by their vibrations in the water. Some specimens have shown smaller Ichthyosaurus remains inside larger ones in positions that appear to be within a uterus of a parent animal and ‬some even appear to have been in the process of being born.‭ ‬This means that Ichthyosaurus almost certainly did not lay eggs,‭ ‬but was instead viviparous,‭ ‬giving birth to live young.‭ ‬As with other viviparous air breathing marine organisms,‭ ‬the young emerged from the mother tail first so that they did not drown while being born. Liopleurodon Liopleurodon ferox is a Pliosaur in the family known as the pliosauridae that lived in Europe during the Middle Jurassic period(specifically 160 to 155 mya). The name "Liopleurodon" (meaning "smooth-sided tooth") derives from Ancient Greek words: λεῖος leios, "smooth"; pleurá, side or rib; and odṓn, tooth.The genus name Liopleurodon was coined by Henri Émile Sauvage in 1873 on the basis of very poor remains consisting of three 70 millimeter (2¾ inch) teeth. Despite being depicted as being 80 feet long in the Walking With Dinosaurs series, Liopleurodon was actually much smaller , being estimated to have grown up to 6.39 metres (21.0 ft) in length. Other Pliosaurs like Pliosaurus itself and Kronosaurus growing to lengths slightly larger than Liopleurodon. Shastasaurus Shastasaurus pacificus("Mt. Shasta lizard") is an merriamosauria ichthyosaur located in the shastasauridae. Shastasaurus lived in North America and Asia during the Middle and Late Triassic period(specifically 235 to 205 million years ago). Shastasaurus is the largest marine reptile that has yet been found. Shastasaurus was highly specialized, and differed considerably from other ichthyosaurs. It was very slender in profile. The largest specimens had a ribcage slightly less than 2 meters (6.6 ft) deep despite a distance of over 7 meters (23 ft) between its flippers. There are two other possible species that belong in the genus but they could also belong to different genera. The adults and juveniles lacked teeth whatsoever, implying they may have been suction feeders;they probably preyed on schools of small fish and cephalopods. Ectenosaurus Ectenosaurus clidastoides is a Plioplatecarpine mosasaur '''that lived in North America during the Late Cretaceous(specifically 85 to 84 million years ago). The '''Plioplatecarpines included genera such as Platecarpus and Selmasaurus and lived from 89 million years to 66 million years ago. The generic name means "Drawn-out lizard", from Greek ectenes ("drawn-out") and Greek sauros ("lizard") referencing the elongated muzzle. Based on the size of the preserved skull, about 74 centimeters in length;Ectenosaurus would have reached sizes of 5.7 meters in length. It was a rare genus of mosasaur with several unique characteristics that clearly separate it from other mosasaur genera. The most prominent of these features is its elongated jaws, elongated in a similar vein to other mosasaurs with elongated jaws, such as Plotosaurus and Pluridens. Thalassomedon Thalassomedon haningtoni is a elasmosaurid plesiosaur that lived in North America during the Late Cretaceous(specifically 95 million years ago). Thalassomedon was named by Welles in 1943. Thalassomedon is among the largest of the elasmosaurids, with a total length of 10.86 meters (35.6 ft) for the holotype. There is a larger skull however suggesting a much larger animal, potentially up to 11.7 meters (38 ft). The neck is also very long; it comprises 62 vertebrae and is about 5.9 meters (19 ft) - over half of the total length. The skull is 47 centimeters (19 in) long, with 5 centimeters (2.0 in) long teeth. The flippers were about 1.5–2 meters (4.9–6.6 ft) long. Stones have been found in its stomach area leading some to theorize that they were used for ballast or digestion. If the latter, stomach action would cause the stones to help grind ingested food. Archelon Archelon (from Greek roots meaning "ruler turtle") is a genus of extinct sea turtles, the largest genus of sea turtles that has ever been documented, and the second-heaviest turtles documented behind Stupendemys.The first specimen of Archelon (YPM 3000) was collected from the Campanian-age Pierre Shale of South Dakota (a geological formation dated to 80.5 million years ago) by Dr. G.R. Wieland in 1895 and described by him the following year (Wieland, 1896). The largest Archelon fossil, found in the Pierre Shale of South Dakota in the 1970s, measures more than 4 metres (13 ft) long, and about 5 metres (16 ft) wide from flipper to flipper. It was a marine turtle, whose closest living relative in the present day is the leatherback sea turtle. Prognathodon Prognathodon is an extinct genus of marine lizard belonging to the mosasaur family. It is classified as part of the Mosasaurinae subfamily, alongside genera like Mosasaurus and Clidastes. Prognathodon has been recovered from deposits ranging in age from the Campanian to the Maastrichtian in the Middle East, Europe and North America. Prognathodon means "forejaw tooth", which originates from the Latin pro- ("earlier" or "prior"), Greek gnathos ("jaw") and odṓn ("tooth"). Twelve nominal species of Prognathodon are recognised, from North America, northern and western Africa, the Middle East, western Europe and New Zealand. Due to the sometimes clear differences between them and the incomplete nature of many of the specimens, the systematics of the genus and which species should properly be considered Prognathodon is controversial.Prognathodon constitutes one of the largest-bodied mosasaur genera, with the largest known skull (belonging to P. currii) exceeding 140 cm in length. Despite its massive size, remains of the genus are often fragmentary and incomplete. To date, very few specimens are known with articulated skulls and none with an entire skeleton. Though many species were large with sizes approaching or potentially exceeding 10 meters, such as P. currii, P. saturator and P. overtoni, many species were considerably smaller in size. The type species, P. solvayi, was the smallest, barely reaching 5 meters in length. Kronosaurus Kronosaurus (/ˌkrɒnoʊˈsɔːrəs/ KRON-o-SAWR-əs; meaning "lizard of Kronos") is an extinct genus of short-necked pliosaur. With an estimated length of 9–10.5 metres (30–34 ft), it was among the largest pliosaurs, and is named after the leader of the Greek Titans, Cronus. It lived in the Early Cretaceous Period (Aptian-Albian). Fossil material has been recovered from Queensland in Australia, and from the Paja Formation in Boyacá, Colombia, and assigned to two species.Like other pliosaurs, Kronosaurus was a marine reptile. It had an elongated head, a short neck, a stiff body propelled by four flippers, and a relatively short tail. The posterior flippers were larger than the anterior. Kronosaurus was carnivorous, and had many long, sharp, conical teeth. Fresnosaurus Fresnosaurus is an extinct genus of plesiosaur from the Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian stage) of what is now California. The type species is Fresnosaurus drescheri, first described by Welles in 1943. The generic name Fresnosaurus honors Fresno County, while the specific name honors Arthur Drescher. Fresnosaurus was probably at least 30 feet in length. Like all elasmosaurid plesiosaurs, it probably ate small bony fish, belemnites, and ammonites. |-|Other Aquatic creatures= Coelacanth The West Indian Ocean coelacanth(Latimeria chalumnae) is only of two species in the genus Latimeria, which is the last genus in a very ancient family. The West Indian Ocean coelacanth is found primarily near the Comoro Islands off the east coast of Africa. They follow the oldest known living lineage of Sarcopterygii (lobe-finned fish and tetrapods), which means they are more closely related to lungfish, reptiles, birds and mammals than to the common ray-finned fishes. Thanks to over fishing and their slow growth rate, the West Indian Ocean coelacanth is a critically endangered species. Coelacanths belong to the subclass Actinistia, a group of lobed-finned fish related to lungfish and certain extinct Devonian fish such as osteolepiforms, porolepiforms, rhizodonts, and Panderichthys. Coelacanths were thought to have become extinct in the Late Cretaceous, around 66 million years ago, but were rediscovered in 1938 off the coast of South Africa. The coelacanth was long considered a "living fossil" because it was believed to be the sole remaining member of a taxon otherwise known only from fossils, with no close relations alive, and to have evolved into roughly its current form approximately 400 million years ago. However, several recent studies have shown that coelacanth body shapes are much more diverse than previously thought. The term "stabilomorph" has began to replace the term "living fossil" to describe these animals. Cretoxyrhina Cretoxyrhina mantelli was a large shark that lived about 100 to 82 million years ago, during the late Cretaceous period. It is nicknamed the Ginsu shark in reference to the Ginsu knife, since it fed by slicing into its victims with its knife-sharp teeth. It had no common name in the early literature, although over 30 synonyms were assigned to it. Its genus name is creto- (for "Cretaceous") prefixed to Oxyrhina ("sharp-nosed"), its original name.Cretoxyrhina is among the most well-understood fossil sharks to date. Several preserved specimens have revealed a great deal of insight about the physical features and lifestyle of this ancient predatory shark. The fossil teeth of C. mantelli are up to 7 centimetres (3 in) long, curved, and smooth-edged, with a thick enamel coating. The jaws of Cretoxyrhina contained up to seven rows of teeth, with 34 teeth in each row of its upper jaw and 36 in each row of its lower jaw. Cretoxyrhina mantelli grew up to 9 metres (30 ft) long, and exceeded the extant great white shark, Carcharodon carcharias, in size. Leedsichthys Leedsichthys problematicus is a giant member of the Pachycormidae, an extinct group of Mesozoic ray-finned fishes that lived in Europe and South America during the Middle Jurassic period. The first remains of Leedsichthys were identified in the nineteenth century. Especially important were the finds by the British collector Alfred Nicholson Leeds, after whom the genus was named "Leeds' fish" in 1889. As the vertebrae are among the parts that have not been preserved, it is hard to determine the total body length. Estimates have varied wildly. At the beginning of the twentieth century a length of nine meters (thirty feet) was seen as plausible, but by its end Leedsichthys was sometimes claimed to have been over thirty meters (hundred feet) long. Recent research has lowered this to about sixteen meters (fifty feet) for the largest individuals. Megalodon Megalodon is an extinct genus of bivalve Mollusks that reportedly lived from the Devonian to the Jurassic Period in Europe, North America, Asia, South America,and Africa. It is not clear, however, that all the fossils assigned to Megalodon from that span of time really belong in the same genus. Jurassic relatives of Megalodon such as Pachyrisma grande were closely related to the rudists. Helicoprion Helicoprion is a long-lived genus of extinct, shark-like eugeneodontid holocephalid fish. Almost all fossil specimens are of spirally arranged clusters of the individuals' teeth, called "tooth whorls"— the cartilaginous skull, spine, and other structural elements have not been preserved in the fossil record, leaving scientists to make educated guesses as to its anatomy and behavior. Helicoprion lived in the oceans of the early Permian 290 million years ago, with species known from North America, Eastern Europe, Asia, and Australia. The closest living relatives of Helicoprion (and other eugeneodontids) are the chimaeras. Tusoteuthis Tusoteuthis longa was a large squid native to North America during the Campanian stage of the Cretaceous. Tusoteuthis hunted large fish and the occasional small marine reptile while being preyed on by large marine reptiles like Tylosaurus proriger. The Tusoteuthis was an unusually large Cephalopod, being an alike size to the Architeuthis(Giant Squid) in the modern world. Recent studies, however, suggest that it was much more closely related to Vampire Squids (Vampyroteuthis infernalis). Onchopristis Onchopristis numidus is a giant sclerorhynchid sawfish that lived in North America, Africa and New Zealand from the Early to Late Cretaceous. It had an elongated snout lined laterally with barbed teeth. As with modern sawfish, Onchopristis's eyes were on top of its head, to spot predators rather than prey, and its mouth and gills were under its body. The rostrum, or snout, was around 2.5 meters (8.2 ft) long and the whole animal is estimated to be about 8 meters (26.2 feet) long. These fish used their rostrum as way to detect prey, sweeping their rostrum from side to side to put their sensors to use. Once they detected prey, they would then chop it to pieces with the barbs on it's rostrum. Despite being a large predator, it was preyed on by larger carnivores like Spinosaurus. Squalicorax Squalicorax is a genus of extinct lamniform shark known to have lived during the Cretaceous period.These sharks are of medium size, up to 5 m (usually around 2 m) in length. Their bodies were similar to the modern gray sharks, but the shape of the teeth is strikingly similar to that of a tiger shark. The teeth are numerous, relatively small, with a curved crown and serrated, up to 2.5 – 3 cm in height (the only representative of the Mesozoic Lamniformes with serrated teeth). Large numbers of fossil teeth have been found in Europe, North Africa, and North America. Squalicorax was a coastal predator, but also scavenged as evidenced by a Squalicorax tooth found embedded in the metatarsal (foot) bone of a terrestrial hadrosaurid dinosaur that most likely died on land and ended up in the water.Other food sources included turtles, mosasaurs, ichthyodectes, and other bony fishes and sea creatures. |-|Small to mid sized theropods= Theropods are often dinosaurs with hallow bones and 3 tipped toes. They usually resemble modern day birds. Balaur Balaur bondoc ''is a small '''maniraptoran' that lived during the Late Cretaceous Period in what is now Romania. The name of this small animal means "Stocky dragon" and it was named after a dragon of Romanian folklore, the Balaur. The current placement of this animal on the evolutionary line of dinosaurs is unknown, some people think it was an herbivorous bird, others think that it might have been a Dromeosaurid of some kind. This animal was subjected to a phenomena that is known as insular gigantism, due to the lack of some predators and plenty of food after milions of years of evolution it mostly gave up the abillity to fly, only being able to glide. Many other animals on it's island also became either large or small, things like Magyarasaurus(a Titanosaur) and Zalmoxes(an Iguanodontid) became smaller though titans like Hatzegopteryx, a gigantic Azhdarchid pterosaur still preyed on these dwarfs. This animal might have been a small herbivore searching for seeds in the bushes and swamps that it inhabited. The animal is only known from one specimen which is called EME.VP 313. The fossil has a hand, a couple of vertebrae and ribs, a pelvic bone and two legs and feet that, surprisingly , possess two "killing claws" or talons. Gallimimus Gallimimus bullatus (aka the Galli) was a Ornithomimid that lived in Asia during the Late Cretaceous period(specifically 70 million years ago). Its name means Chicken mimic, although it being much larger than a chicken and was rather ostrich like. The Gallimimus had a small head, toothless beak, a long neck, 2 short arms, 2 long legs, a long tail, and hollow bones. The tail was likely used for balance as based on the size of its legs it most likely ran at high speeds. The Galli had its eyes on the sides of its head, so it didn't possess binocular vision. It's unknown what the Galli ate. Scientists have debated that it may have eaten small animals, but due to its rake like arms it could've eaten roots in the soil. It could've possible been an omnivore. Another topic of debate was if the Galli had feathers. Some recent fossils have been found in its close relatives that suggest it may have had a coat of feathers along its neck and back down through its tail and arms with the feathers stopping at the knee. Achillobator Achillobator giganticus was a large dromaeosaur 'reaching a length of 20 feet. ''Achillobator ''lived during the Late Cretaceous(specficially 98-83 million years ago) in Asia. It had a name derived from the name of the Greek hero Achilles and the Mongolian word for hero. ''Achillobator could of preyed on a number of species including: Garudimimus, Avimimus,'' Enigmosaurus'','' Gilmoreosaurus'','' Heishansaurus'','' Bactrosaurus'', and Graciliceratops''which lived in the same time and place as ''Achillobator. The ''Achillobator ''was discovered in 1989, but was not formally named and described until 1999.''Achillobator''s hip was pointing in the opposite direction of other '''dromaeosaurs, along with this, the skull of Achillobator was similar in proportions to a carnosaur skull when compared to the body, its neck was short and robust, and proportionally weird legs for a dromaeosaur, these features are some of the features that make Achillobator a distinct genus. Ceratosaurus Ceratosaurus nasicornis was a medium sized ceratosaur that was part of the ceratosauridae; living in North America, Europe and possibly Africa during the Late Jurassic(specifically from 156 to 145 million years ago). What makes the Ceratosaurus ''and its relatives unique among its similar sized brethren is the horns on their nose, being one of the only theropods to have this particular trait. ''Ceratosaurus teeth were thin and blade-like, designed to slice through flesh. While its head was a viable weapon, its arms were not; The arms of Ceratosaurus were more comparable to a Tyranosaurs in size compared to the body, with four short, stubby fingers. In North America and Europe, Ceratosaurus lived with the other two large carnivores of it's time, Allosaurus and Torvosaurus. The reason it can coexist with these larger carnivores was because it filled a different ecological role, preying on smaller herbivores as well as scavenging more often then Allosaurus and Torvosaurus. Guanlong Guanlong wucaii is a proceratosaurid tyrannosauroid that lived in Asia during the Late Jurassic(specifically 160 million years ago). The taxon was first described in 2006 by Xu et al., who found it to represent a new taxon related to Tyrannosaurus. The name is derived from Chinese, translating as "five colored crowned dragon". Two individuals are currently known, a partially complete adult and a nearly complete juvenile. At about 3 meters long (9.8 ft), these small predators lived 92 million years before its well-known relative Tyrannosaurus. A striking feature on the animals is the large crest on their head. Unlike most later tyrannosaurs, Guanlong had three long fingers on its hands. Aside from its distinctive crest, it would have resembled its more basal relative Dilong, and like Dilong probably had a coat of primitive feathers. Irritator Irritator challengeriis is a spinosaurid that lived in South America during the Early Cretaceous(specifically 110 million years ago). Current estimates of its size indicate a length of 8 meters (26 feet). In 2010, Gregory S. Paul gave lower estimations of 7.5 meters and one tonne. Despite appearances, Irritator was closer related to Spinosaurus than it is to Baryonyx. So far the only fossil that has been found was an 80 centimeter long fossil skull in the Romualdo Member, a layer member of the Santana Formation. This skull strongly resembles the skulls of Suchomimus and Spinosaurus. The genus is often regarded today as identical (synonymous) with Angaturama, which lived in the same time and the same place as Irritator. Fossilized spinosaurid teeth found at around the same time and place were found lodged in the neck of a pterosaur, the tooth probably came from an Irritator or a spinosaurid similar to Irritator. This evidence suggest that Irritator may have preyed on pterosaurs as well as on fish. Utahraptor Utahraptor ostrommaysorum (meaning "Utah's predator") is the largest known member of the Dromaeosaurids. Utahraptor lived in North America during the Early Cretaceous(specifically 126 million years ago). The holotype specimen of Utahraptor is fragmentary, consisting of skull fragments, a tibia, claws and some caudal (tail) vertebrae. These few elements suggest an animal about twice the length of Deinonychus. Like other dromaeosaurids, Utahraptor had large curved claws on their second toes. One claw specimen is preserved at 22 centimeters (8.7 in) in length and is thought to reach 24 cm (9.4 in) restored. Concavenator Concavenator corcovatus was a 20 foot long Carcharodontosaurid Carnosaur that lived in Europe during the Early Cretaceous(specifically 130 million years ago). Concavenator is unique among its relatives because of the distinctive spine on its back which was probably used for display or supported a hump. Along with this, Concavenator possessed knobs on it’s forelimb, which could be feathers; if the knobs are feathers, then Concavenator would be the first Carcharodontosaurid with evidence of feathers. Possible prey of the Concavenator included the sauropod Aragosaurus, mainly different species of Iguanodont, the stegosaur Craterosaurus, and Hypsilophodontids Hylaeosaurus, Stenopelix, and Valdosaurus. Dilophosaurus Dilophosaurus wetherilli is a dilophosaurid that lived in North America during the Early Jurassic(specifically 193 million years ago). Dilophosaurus was among the largest carnivores of its time and had is very distinct for it's pair of rounded crests on its skull. Dilophosaurus measured about 7 meters (23 ft) long and weighed about 400 kilograms (880 lb). Studies on the jaws of the Dilophosaurus suggest that it may have preferred to fish rather then hunt the sauropodomorphs that it coexisted with. A study by Robert J. Gay (2005) comparing various specimens found no indication that sexual dimorphism was present in Dilophosaurus, so males and females would have been largely the same in terms of skeletal anatomy. Coelophysis Coelophysis bauri is a coelophysid that lived in North America during the Late Triassic to Early Jurassic(specifically from 203 to 196 million years ago). Coelophysis has a second species that lived in Africa known as Coelophysis rhodesiensis. Coelophysis was a small, slenderly-built, ground-dwelling, bipedal carnivore, that could grow up to 3 m (9.8 ft) long. Coelophysis is one of the earliest known dinosaur genera. Scattered material representing similar animals has been found worldwide in some Late Triassic and Early Jurassic formations. Murusraptor Murusraptor barrosaensis was a megarptorian that lived in South America during the Late Cretaceous(specifically from 93 to 89 million years ago). While the currently we only have the bones of a 21 ft juvenile, it is unknown how large Murusraptor actually could have grown to. Possible prey included the ceratopsian Notoceratops and Saltosaurus, and was possibly competed with the Carnotaurus, or maybe preyed upon it if it grew big enough. Murusraptor, like its cousin Megaraptor, had a large claw on its forelimbs. Gojirasaurus Gojirasaurus (meaning "Godzilla Lizard") is a possibly dubious genus of dinosaur named after the giant monster movie character Gojira (the Japanese name for Godzilla).Gojirasaurus is one of the largest meat-eating dinosaurs known from the Triassic Period, almost the size of its relative, the large coelophysoid Dilophosaurus. The size of its tibia was 469 mm, which was comparable to that of Liliensternus (409 mm) and Dilophosaurus (555 mm), suggesting that it was a large triassic dinosaur, estimated to be about 5.5 m (18 ft) long, which can be extrapolated to a weight of approximately 150–200 kg (330–440 lb). |-|Large theropods= Carnotaurus Carnotaurus sastrei is a Abelisaurid Ceratosaur that lived in South America during the Late Cretaceous period(specifically from 72 to 69 million years ago). Known from a single well-preserved skeleton, it is one of the best-understood theropods from the Southern Hemisphere. This predator was like a cheetah. Using it's speed, it sprinted and ran down it's prey. It is believed that Carnotaurus is one of the fastest large carnivorous dinosaurs to have ever lived. The distinctive horns and the muscular neck may have been used in fighting conspecifics. According to separate studies, rivaling individuals may have combated each other with quick head blows, by slow pushes with the upper sides of their skulls, or by ramming each other head-on, using their horns as shock absorbers. The feeding habits of Carnotaurus remain unclear: some studies suggest the animal was able to hunt down very large prey such as sauropods, while other studies find it preyed mainly on relatively small animals. It has recently been discovered that Carnotaurus could swallow prey up to the size of a human whole, with a pouch not unlike that of a pelican. Ichthyovenator Ichthyovenator laosensis is a spinosaurid that lived in Asia during the Early Cretaceous. The generic name is derived from Greek ἰχθύς (ichthys), "fish", and Latin venator, "hunter", in reference to a piscivorous lifestyle. Ichthyovenato''r is distinct from other '''spinosaurids' in that it had "two sails" on its back shown in the vertebrae, but this may have been covered over by skin and flesh in life. Ichthyovenator is one of the best preserved and well known of the Asian spinosaurids. Albertosaurus Albertosaurus (/ælˌbɜːrtəˈsɔːrəs/; meaning "Alberta lizard") is a genus of tyrannosaurid theropod dinosaurs that lived in western North America during the Late Cretaceous Period, about 70 million years ago. The type species, A. sarcophagus, was apparently restricted in range to the modern-day Canadian province of Alberta, after which the genus is named. Scientists disagree on the content of the genus, with some recognizing Gorgosaurus libratus as a second species. As a tyrannosaurid, Albertosaurus was a bipedal predator with tiny, two-fingered hands and a massive head that had dozens of large, sharp teeth. It may have been at the top of the food chain in its local ecosystem. While Albertosaurus was large for a theropod, it was much smaller than its larger and more famous relative Tyrannosaurus rex, growing nine to ten meters long and weighing less than possibly 2 metric tons. Since the first discovery in 1884, fossils of more than 30 individuals have been recovered, providing scientists with a more detailed knowledge of Albertosaurus anatomy than is available for most other tyrannosaurids. The discovery of 26 individuals at one site provides evidence of pack behaviour and allows studies of ontogeny and population biology, which are impossible with lesser-known dinosaurs.Albertosaurus was smaller than some other tyrannosaurids, such as Tarbosaurus and Tyrannosaurus. Typical Albertosaurus adults measured up to 9 m (30 ft) long, while rare individuals of great age could grow to be over 10 metres (33 feet) long. Therizinosaurus Therizinosaurs (or segnosaurs) were theropod dinosaurs belonging to the clade Therizinosauria. Therizinosaur fossils have been found in Early through Late Cretaceous deposits in Mongolia, the People's Republic of China and western North America. Various features of the forelimbs, skull and pelvis unite these finds as both theropods and as maniraptorans, close relatives to birds. The name therizinosaur is derived from the Greek θερίζω therízein, meaning 'to reap' or 'to cut off', and σαῦρος saûros meaning 'lizard'. The older name segnosaur is derived from Latin segnis meaning 'slow' or 'sluggish', and Greek σαυρος, sauros, meaning 'lizard'.Therizinosaurs had a very distinctive, often confusing set of characteristics. Their long necks, wide torsos, and hind feet with four toes used in walking resembled those of basal sauropodomorph dinosaurs. Their unique hip bones, which pointed backwards and were partially fused together, initially reminded paleontologists of the "bird-hipped" ornithischians. Among the most striking characteristics of therizinosaurs are the enormous claws on their hands, which reached lengths of around one meter in Therizinosaurus. The unusual range of motion in therizinosaur forelimbs, which allowed them to reach forward to a degree other theropods could not achieve, also supports the idea that they were mainly herbivorous. Therizinosaurs may have used their long reach and strongly curved claws to grasp and shear leafy branches, in a manner similar to large mammals that lived later on, such as chalicotheres, ground sloths, great apes, and giant pandas. Skin impressions from Beipiaosaurus indicate that therizinosaurs were covered with a coat of primitive, down-like feathers similar to those seen in the compsognathid Sinosauropteryx, as well as longer, simpler, quill-like feathers that may have been used in display. Therizinosaurs spanned a large range of sizes, from the small Beipiaosaurus (which measured 2.2 m, or 7.3 ft in length), to the gigantic Therizinosaurus, which at an approximate 10 m (33 ft) long and an estimated weight of 5 tonnes, was among the largest known theropods. Giganotosaurus Giganotosaurus (/ˌdʒaɪɡəˌnoʊtəˈsɔːrəs/ JIG-ə-NOT-o-SAW-rus) is a genus of theropod dinosaur that lived in what is now Argentina, during the early Cenomanian age of the Late Cretaceous period, approximately 98 to 97 million years ago. The holotype specimen was discovered in the Candeleros Formation of Patagonia in 1993, and is almost 70% complete. The animal was named G. carolinii in 1995; the genus name translates as "giant southern lizard" and the specific name honours the discoverer, Rubén D. Carolini. A dentary bone, a tooth and some tracks, discovered before the holotype, were later assigned to this animal. The genus attracted much interest and became part of a scientific debate about the maximum sizes of theropod dinosaurs. Giganotosaurus was one of the largest known terrestrial carnivores, but the exact size has been hard to determine due to the incompleteness of the remains found so far. Estimates for the most complete specimen range from a length of 12 to 13 m (39 to 43 ft), a skull 1.53 to 1.80 m (5.0 to 5.9 ft) in length, and a weight of 4.2 to 13.8 t (4.6 to 15.2 short tons). The dentary bone that belonged to a supposedly larger individual has been used to extrapolate a length of 13.2 m (43 ft). Acrocanthosaurus Saurophaganax Deinocheirus Carcharodontosaurus Sauroniops Torvosaurus Tarbosaurus Yutyrannus yutyrannus was thought to be feathered and super floofed as some might call it. It was thought so with some evidence and a theory to be fdeathered instead of scaled because it was discovered in cold areas in the continent pangea. This theropod loved during the mid cretaceus period.Category:Miscellaneous